DAC approves proposals to buy Barak missiles for naval warships

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of the Union Defence Ministry has approved proposal to procure fresh batch of Barak surface-to-air missiles (SAM) for the Indian Navy’s warships from Israel.

The procurement of the missiles will enhance India’s maritime capability in view of the changing security dynamics in the Indian Ocean region (IOR).

Key Facts

The missiles will be procured under ‘Buy Global’ category from Israel’s Rafael Advance Defence Systems Limited at an approximate cost of around Rs 500 crore.

The new batch of the missiles will replace the current ones deployed in the Indian Navy which have completed their shelf life.

Israeli-built Barak short-range SAMs are installed on most of the front-line warships of the India Navy, including the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

DAC also cleared proposal for procurement of expendable Bathy thermograph systems for Indian Navy to detect temperature changes under water. The procurement will be through the foreign military sales route from the US. It also approved procurement of equipment to counter mines in the sea, a repeat order worth Rs. 311 crore.

About Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)

The DAC is Defence Ministry’s highest decision making body for capital acquisition proposals forwarded by the Indian armed forces. It was set up in 2001 as part of the post-Kargil reforms in defence sector

It approves the long-term integrated perspective plan for the forces, accords acceptance of necessity (AON) to begin acquisition proposals, and grant’s its approval to all major deals through all their important phases.

It also has the power to approve any deviations in an acquisition, and recommends all big capital defence purchases for approval of the Cabinet committee on security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister.